


humpty dumpty

by sugarexe (SovereignSugar)



Category: IT (2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - No Pennywise (IT), Eddie kisses it all better, Fluff, M/M, Minor Injuries, Of the tooth-rotting variety, Richie is one lucky son of a gun, at least in the present tense it is, sorry if they're a lil ooc at some points?, the italic parts are memories from when they're in 8th grade, Перевод на русский | Translation in Russian
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-30
Updated: 2018-04-30
Packaged: 2019-04-30 02:58:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,806
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14487333
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SovereignSugar/pseuds/sugarexe
Summary: Richie has been climbing into Eddie's room through his window since middle school. He's never fallen before, and he's confident that he never will. Until he does.





	humpty dumpty

**Author's Note:**

> welcome baaaaaaaack~  
> I have brought you all another one-shot of the reddie variety~
> 
> all of my fanfics are un-beta'd so if I glossed over some mistakes, I apologize haha  
> I try to catch them all, but I'm only human (also sorry if the end seems rushed,, I really wanted to hurry and finish this)  
> anyway, I hope you enjoy it :D
> 
> russian translation: [ here ](https://ficbook.net/readfic/7053884/17982867)  
> thanks so much to the translator, [ Masha.ru ](https://ficbook.net/authors/961899)!

_Eddie nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw Richie's face outside his window. Out of all the things he expected to see at 9 pm (on a school night, no less), it certainly wasn't those bug-eyes staring at him from the dark abyss on the other side of his window. Richie tapped the glass incessantly, a shit-eating grin on his face. Eddie hurried over and opened the window to let him in._

_"Richie, what the hell are you doing here? Why did you **climb up to my window**?" Eddie whispered furiously, "I'm on the second floor!"_

_Richie heaved himself into the room, almost spilling onto Eddie's carpet. He steadied himself against the wall, causing a loud thump to reverberate through the room. Eddie shushed him frantically and listened for any sign of his mother. He only heard her faint snores and let out a sigh of relief. He narrowed his eyes at Richie and smacked his arm._

_"Ow! Abuse! I came **just** to see you, Eds! You should treat me with some hospitality!" Richie whined, rubbing his arm. Eddie felt his heart skip, but he ignored it in favor of scolding his friend. He furrowed his eyebrows, fixing Richie with a stern look. _

_"What if you fell and hurt yourself, dumbass? I wouldn't be able to help you if you broke something!" He placed his hands on his hips, trying to look as menacing as he could in his thirteen-year-old body._

_"It's not a big deal, Eddie," Richie rolled his eyes, "I'm fine! I am an expert climber!"_

_He adopted a very exaggerated English accent before continuing, "I'm simply the tip of the top, old chap! Pun intended."_

_The absurdity of Richie's declaration made Eddie lapse into a fit of giggles. He covered his mouth and tried to regain his composure. "_

_Oh my God... Don't make me laugh when I'm trying to lecture you, idiot!" Eddie said, his grin betraying his tone. Richie smiled triumphantly and plopped himself down on Eddie's bed. He laid back, his hands behind his head. Eddie glanced at the homework on his desk, debating on whether or not to finish it before joining him._

_"It's not going to walk off, Eds. Come chill with me."_

_Eddie shrugged and laid by him, clasping his hands on his stomach. They stared at the ceiling for a few moments._

_"You couldn't have **at least** warned me beforehand? I almost pissed myself," Eddie turned his head to look at Richie. His smile faltered when Richie didn't respond. He looked kind of... sad? He wasn't used to seeing Richie like that. _

_"Hey... what's wrong?" Eddie asked tentatively. He turned his body towards him so he could look at him better._

_"Eddie," Richie said. He faltered and Eddie didn't know what to make of it. It had to be serious if Richie hadn't used some dumb nickname._

_"Eddie, I think I like boys," Richie murmured. His face was burning. Out of shame, possibly? The confession caught Eddie off-guard, not because he was grossed out or anything, but because he understood completely how Richie felt. Eddie had known that he liked boys since he was in the third grade. Of course, he didn't know what being gay was until middle school, but that didn't make his crush on Zac Efron any less real (or embarrassing, for that matter). Most people would write that off and say that he was confused, so Eddie kept it to himself. He hadn't planned on coming out to any of his friends yet, but Richie looked so disheartened. He felt like it would help him feel less weird if Richie knew that he could relate._

_"Me too," Eddie said softly. Richie snapped his head to look at Eddie so fast that he was concerned he may have gotten whiplash. His eyes were even larger than usual, magnified by both shock and his ridiculous glasses. Eddie would've laughed if Richie weren't having such a hard time._

_"Really?" Richie asked. He sat up quickly._

_"Yes, really. Why would I lie about that, Rich?" Eddie rolled his eyes and sat up too. "I've known since elementary school."_

_That really seemed to throw Richie for a loop. He studied Eddie's face, looking for any insincerity. Eddie guessed that he didn't find any sign of him lying (he wouldn't because Eddie was telling the truth) because his face broke out into a relieved grin. Eddie smiled back._

_They talked about their experiences (mostly about celebrity crushes) until Richie absolutely had to leave. Eddie was almost late to school the next morning, and his homework wasn't finished. But he didn't care. As soon as he saw a sleep-deprived Richie at lunch, he couldn't contain the grin from breaking out on his face._

 

It became a ritual for Richie to visit Eddie at night. He always visited at least once a week, and at Eddie's insistence, never on school nights. Eddie had given up on lecturing Richie after what seemed like his hundredth visit. Richie didn't lie when he said he was good at climbing, after all. Eddie theorized that it was because of his ridiculously long limbs (and the fact that Richie was pretty underweight throughout middle school - he never said that aloud, though.) It didn't stop Eddie from telling Richie off for coming to his house in dangerous weather, though.

 

_"There's no getting through that thick skull of yours, is there?" Eddie sighed and helped to drag Richie inside. It was a week into their winter break. Christmas was approaching quickly and despite the low temperature, Richie was grinning. His teeth were also chattering, though. He was drenched - it had snowed the night before and Richie had the bright idea to walk through it apparently. Eddie felt Richie shaking and frowned. No matter how many times he told Richie to take care of his health, he never listened._

_"God, you're freezing, Rich," Eddie shivered and closed the window, "Why did you come over in the snow? Are you trying to die a slow, painful death?"_

_"What can I say, Eds? I love to be teased."_

_"Shut up and get undressed, Trashmouth," Eddie ordered. He looked through his dresser for dry clothes that could fit Richie._

_"Oh my, how fo'ward, Mr. Kaspbrak. Ahm not sure my_ _daddy'll_ _like_ 't _if he found out that we were doin' somethin' like this outta wedlock!" Richie exclaimed in a demure southern(?) accent. He fanned himself (as if it weren't bad enough that it was cold outside), and Eddie rolled his eyes. He threw a sock at Richie's head._

_"Gross, Eddie! Is this the sock you fap into? Siiiick!"_

_"Yeah, sure. And if you don't stop fucking around, I'll stuff the next one down your throat."_

_Richie laughed at that and slid out of his winter clothes. Eddie took the wet clothing and hung them on the chair next to the heater. He waited for Richie to finish dressing, his arms crossed._

_"I'm going to get some hot chocolate so get your ass under the covers and shut the fuck up," Eddie said pointedly. Richie made a show of getting comfortable, letting out a contented groan as he snuggled up to Eddie's pillow. Eddie couldn't contain the laugh that bubbled up his throat._

_"God, you are such a ham!" He exclaimed. Richie smiled at him cheekily._

_Eddie snuck down the stairs into the kitchen. His mom was a heavy sleeper, but he proceeded with caution anyway. If she woke up, there was a huge risk of her finding out that Richie snuck in._

_He was so thankful for his mom's Keurig at that moment. It made some noise (that's to be expected), but it was never loud enough to be heard from upstairs. And it also brewed everything quickly. Eddie never used it for anything other than hot chocolate or caffeine-free teas because his mother wouldn't let him drink coffee. She even put the coffee on the highest shelf so Eddie couldn't reach it, which embarrassed the hell out of him. It was not worth the humiliation of climbing on top of the counter to reach it. Fuck that._

_(Joke's on her, though. He and Beverly drank lattes from Starbucks everytime they went out. He always got the caffeinated kind, too, just to spite her.)_

_Eddie fixed two mugs of hot chocolate quickly. He tapped his fingers on the counter as the heated water streamed out of the machine. He decided that he wanted marshmallows to go with it (despite his mother's nagging cries of, " **That's too much sugar before bed! You'll have nightmares!** " in the back of his mind). Hot chocolate wasn't hot chocolate without marshmallows, after all._

_Unfortunately for him, his mother placed the marshmallows on a shelf he couldn't reach. He couldn't grab them no matter how much he stretched. Eddie almost gave up until a hand came from behind him and got them for him, scaring the shit out of him. He banged his knee against the counter, and he felt tears spring to his eyes. He had to clasp a hand over his mouth to contain his cry of pain._

_When he turned, he saw Richie doubled over in laughter. It came out in gasps, and his face was red from exertion (probably from trying to laugh silently)._

_"S-sorry, Spaghetti! I j-just couldn't help m-myself!" Richie said through his laughter, his hands on his sides._

_"Richie, I swear to fucking God, I am going to murder you!" Eddie wheezed in pain. He rubbed his knee, which was scraped because of the knobs on the shelves under the counter. **Yeah, that was definitely going to bruise.**_

_Richie tried to compose himself. He alternated between giggling and short bursts of laughter. It made Eddie want to both pour hot chocolate all over his dumb head and kiss his stupid face. Ugh, what a moron._

_"You ass! You made me hurt my knee! I told you to stay in my room!"_

_"Oh, I made you? I couldn't have possibly known that you would have such a **knee-jerk reaction**!" Richie said, chuckling at his own pun. Eddie almost saw red._

_"You won't be laughing when the next knee-jerk reaction I have is against your balls," Eddie spat. He gaped when Richie snorted in laughter._

_"Eds... I'm going to be honest with you... that sounded **really** gay," he snickered. Eddie groaned and threw his hands up in frustration. He snatched the marshmallows off the counter and stomped back to their hot chocolate._

_Richie sidled up to him, an apologetic smile on his face. Eddie ignored him, putting the marshmallows in their mugs angrily._

_"Eddie~ I'm sorry!" Richie poked his shoulder. Eddie pulled away stubbornly._

_"I didn't mean to scare you that badly! I didn't know you would hurt yourself," Richie pouted. He rested his chin on Eddie's shoulder. "I could kiss it better."_

_He puckered his lips and made some gross kissing noises, and Eddie cursed himself for feeling charmed. He rolled his eyes in fake annoyance. He shoved Richie's face away from him and blushed when Richie kissed his palm._

_"Alright, you buffoon! Stop it," Eddie griped. "I forgive you! Stop being gross!"_

_"I know you like it, Eds. Don't even pretend you don't!" Richie smirked._

_"Whatever helps you sleep at night, Dick. Come on."_

_Eddie put everything away (except for the marshmallows - Richie put those back... No, Eddie wasn't bitter), and he grabbed his mug. He crept back upstairs, Richie on his heels. He breathed a sigh of relief when he finally closed the door._

_Eddie sat on his bed and sipped his hot chocolate carefully, glaring at Richie when he plopped down and almost made him burn his tongue. Richie shrugged apologetically._

_"Do you want to watch a Christmas movie on Netflix or something?" Eddie asked, setting his mug on his nightstand. He pulled his laptop into his lap and laid back on his pillow._

_"OooOOoo! Netflix and chill?" Richie sang. He laid back beside him and waggled his eyebrows. Eddie looked up at the ceiling in despair._

_"Does everything have to be a joke to you?" He muttered._

_"That's what makes me so fun, Spaghetti Head," Richie stated. Eddie only hummed skeptically in response, opting to retrieve his earbuds from his nightstand drawer. He handed the left earbud to Richie and started scrolling through the holiday movies._

_"What do you want to watch?"_

_"Let's watch a scary one!"_

_Eddie quirked an eyebrow at him._

_"What? It's better than watching one of your cheesy ass Lifetime movies! What are you? A middle-aged Christian mother?"_

_"Uhh, I'll have you know that The Spirit of Christmas is a masterpiece," Eddie scoffed, purposefully scrolling past the horror movies to tick Richie off._

_"You only say that because you think the ghost is hot!"_

_"Oh, and you don't?"_

_"Not my type," Richie shrugged. Eddie's eyebrows shot up._

_"Oh yeah? What's your type, Tozier?"_

_"Hmm..." Richie tapped a finger to his chin thoughtfully. He smirked._

_"Short... feisty... anal about germs... wears a fanny pack unironically... Yeah, guys like that just really get me goin'."_

_Eddie's face bloomed, and he shoved Richie gently._

_"Shut up," He muttered, and he chose the movie Richie wanted to watch in the hopes of distracting him. Richie only grinned and laid his head on Eddie's shoulder._

_"Knew you'd come around, Spaghetti Man," Richie said._

_" **Stop calling me that.** "_

_They watched Christmas movies until they fell asleep. Eddie told Richie that he wouldn't be leaving at all because he was liable to freeze to death in the weather, and Richie didn't protest. He didn't seem so keen on walking back home through the snow. Eddie assured that he would sneak him out the next morning without his mother knowing. They somehow succeeded in doing so (Eddie had distracted his mother in the den while Richie snuck out the back door), and when Eddie convinced his mother to let him outside, they had met at the end of the street before going to meet the other Losers at Bill's._

 

They started dating the summer after eighth grade, with help from an intervention staged by the other Losers. They had been dancing around each other that whole school year - a lot of flirting, affectionate ribbing, and casual physical contact. Even Ben - the most romantic of the group - felt his cheeks heat up in their presence, cringing at how sappy they were. The joke is on the other Losers, though. Aside from their occasional fights, Richie and Eddie are almost perpetually in their honeymoon phase. Now with added make outs.

They're in the summer before their senior year, now. Richie parks his car near the curb in front of Eddie's house. It's 11:55 pm. Their third anniversary will arrive in five minutes. Richie actually feels nervous. He knows Eddie will love the present he picked, but it doesn't keep the nagging anxiety from making its presence known. He grabs his bag and approaches Eddie's house.

He pulls himself onto the roof of the garage. Richie has made the climb so many times that he doesn't even think about it now. He scales his way up to Eddie's window and grabs onto the sill. What he doesn't expect is to see Eddie's excited face waiting for him. Eddie is usually distracted by something when Richie climbs in, so this development spooks Richie so much that he visibly startles. He hears Eddie gasp his name before he even realizes that he's falling.

The impact isn't so bad. He turns as he falls so he doesn't hurt his back on the ridge of the roof. This causes him to careen off the side, but he has the mind to grab the ledge before he rolls off of it. He dangles for a moment before lowering himself to the ground. His hands sting and he unfurls them carefully. The roof did quite the number on them.

Richie staggers, but he ends up leaning against the garage. His heart is beating so fast that it feels like it may burst from his chest. He's laughing in shock when Eddie runs up beside him, and suddenly he's being thoroughly examined.

"Oh my god, Richie, are you okay? Do I need to take you to the hospital? Does anything hurt?! Jesus, I knew it was too dangerous for you to climb in through the window! I should've stopped you in middle school!" Eddie rambles on a mile a minute. His hands are roaming Richie's body, checking for any signs of injuries. He winces when he sees Richie's injured hands.

"God, Richie, your hands," he murmurs, gingerly turning them over. He turns his attention to Richie's head. He brings his hands up to Richie's face.

"Did you hit your head at all? No bumps or anything?" Eddie gently caresses his cheek. His eyes are filled with so much worry and affection that Richie is able to find his voice again.

"No, Spaghetti. I'm fine... I didn't fall the whole way. Just a few scrapes, I promise," Richie says. His voice is raspy. Eddie lets out a sigh of relief. He pulls Richie into a careful embrace.

"Do me a favor, Rich. Don't ever try to climb in through my window ever again," He murmurs into Richie's chest. Richie wraps his arms around him.

"Okay, yeah. Maybe next time I'll just use the door." Eddie pulls away reluctantly and leads Richie inside. They're fortunate that Sonia hasn't woken up because of all the commotion. Eddie sits Richie on his bed and directs him to take his bag off. He sets the bag next to the wall and retrieves his first aid kit.

"Take off your shirt, Rich," he orders faintly, and Richie does so without cracking any jokes. Eddie's hands are soft against his skin. He hisses when he feels the antiseptic seep into his scrapes. Eddie bandages all of the small wounds. Richie doesn't bother to put his shirt back on because Eddie quickly moves on to cleaning his hands.

"God, you are one lucky son of a bitch," Eddie says as he finishes wrapping his right hand. He leans his head into Richie's shoulder, his voice full of relief. Richie grins and brings a hand up to ruffle his hair.

"Thanks, Nurse Kaspbrak! I feel so much better now because of you!" Richie jokes. He doesn't have to see Eddie's eyes to know that he's rolling them.

"So nothing else hurts?" Eddie looks up at him.

"Nothing you can't heal with a kiss, my dear," he answers happily. He's met with an exasperated sigh, but Eddie brings a hand up to his face and kisses him tenderly, so much so that Richie's heart swells. Eddie's arms wrap around his neck as the kiss deepens. Richie lets out a muffled noise when he's pushed back against the wall, and Eddie straddles him. He laughs when Eddie peppers kisses down his jaw.

"Okay, I take it back," Richie says, "If you're going to be like this everytime I fall off a roof, I'll probably do it more often."

He feels a puff of air against his pulse, and Eddie moves up to glare at him.

"If you ever do that again, I'll leave you on the ground to rot," He threatens. His tone is contradicted by the way he leans back down to kiss Richie. They kiss slowly; Eddie's lips are deliberate against his. He feels Eddie's fingertips brushing down his arm until they reach his wrist. He moves his hand and laces their fingers together, and he can feel the caress of Eddie's thumb on his palm through the bandages. Richie nips his bottom lip affectionately, but he hisses in pain when Eddie's thumb accidentally presses into his wound too hard. Eddie gasps and recoils.

Richie pouts when Eddie maneuvers off of him, despite Richie's efforts to coax him back.

"What are you, a masochist?" Eddie asks.

"I'm anything you want me to be when we're making out, sugar lips." Richie dodges the pillow Eddie throws at him and snickers.

"We can fool around later. Right now, we're going to relax. I want you to open your gift first," Eddie states, "I didn't know what to get you for our anniversary, so I just threw some things together."

Eddie retrieves a basket full of goodies from under his desk and sets it on the bed. He gestures for Richie to look through the basket. It's filled with Richie's favorite snacks and candies, the newest album and a hoodie from his favorite band, some new movies they haven't seen yet, and some Coke bottles with their names on the labels.

Eddie is blushing when Richie looks up at him.

"I know it's cheesy, but I hope you like it?" Eddie says hesitantly. He fidgets a bit, anticipating Richie's reaction. Richie grins at him.

"Like it? I love it, holy shit!" He exclaims, and he thinks it's cute when Eddie visibly relaxes.

"The gift I got you is way cheesier, anyway - " Richie stops short. He bolts up abruptly, causing Eddie to jump.

"Richie, what - "

"Shit, your gift!" Richie grabs his bag and opens it hurriedly, deflating when he looks inside.

"Fuuuuuck!" He groans. He sits next to Eddie and sighs. Eddie takes the bag from Richie and looks inside curiously. He carefully pulls out the gift. It is (or was) some sort of... paper lightbox? From what Eddie can glean from the wreckage, it was supposed to be a scene from the quarry - one that he recognizes. The scene is from the day they had confessed their feelings for each other. Their friends' silhouettes all stand on the cliff, whooping and laughing as his and Richie's silhouettes jump off together. Their names and the date of their anniversary are written at the bottom in elegant calligraphy - Eddie can tell that it was written by Bill.

"I paid Bill... so much money for that thing. It took him like... a month to finish it. He's gonna kill me," Richie whines, "I'm sorry, Eds."

He's surprised to see Eddie grinning at the gift.

"Richie, I love it," Eddie says breathily, and Richie thinks for a moment that he's about to cry.

"But it was destroyed - "

"So? I'm sure Bill can fix it!" Eddie interrupts, looking up at him, "Richie, this is the most thoughtful gift I've ever received! _Thank you_."

Richie is about to protest and apologize again, but Eddie sets the lightbox aside and pulls Richie into a hug before he can.

"I'm not lying when I say that I love it," Eddie says softly, "I don't mind that you crushed it when you fell - I'm happier that _you_ weren't the one that was gravely injured."

Richie feels like the luckiest bastard in the world to have such a caring boyfriend.

"I love you, Richie."

"I love you, too, Eds. Happy anniversary."

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos and comments are super appreciated xoxo
> 
> if it would interest you, visit my tumblr @ sovereignsugar  
> I don't reblog a lot of stuff from It (weird, I know!), but you can def come say hello~
> 
> I'm going to be writing a multi-chapter fic soon, so anticipate that haha  
> until next time!


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